Ocho Rios Beach Break Excursion Reviews

This was at the end, just under an hour and due to time we did not go to the wonderful Bamboo beach that Peat Taylor normally takes his guests too but it was fine for a short break. I think it was Mahogany. The host there were very nice, food smelled good and beer was cold. There are a couple small-not so much pressure, shops but do NOT accept the first price, unless you are rich.

Provider: Independent Operator

We did the Paradise beach break. At first we were disappointed because the water is very rocky. Almost impossible to get into the water unless you have water shoes, and that's all we really wanted to do. You're taken to this beach along with about 15 others in a small shuttle van. You have your "host" or "guide" who is assigned to your group for the day. When you arrive you are shown where your group should sit. They want you to sit all together. They will start to serve you beverages and small appetizers which were all pretty good. At first we were really disappointed we did the excursion because we really wanted to get into the water and we were upset we paid $60 each to not be able to do that comfortably. But then we noticed a clearing about a football field way down the beach. NOBODY was down on this end of the beach. We walked down there and the water was PERFECT. So we would go swim in that area and then come back to our chairs for some cocktails every now and then. Just need to keep an eye on the guide and make sure you know when they are going to leave. Only complaint is on the way back they said we were going to do some shopping. Huh? Nobody thought shopping was part of the tour. So we stopped at one place and they said we would stay there for 20 minutes. Only one couple went into one store and then came back. Nobody else wanted to shop and just wanted to go back to the ship. The driver and tour guide kept telling us they would take us back. The ship was just a couple blocks away, but they they would NOT let us walk back. Just as we pulled out, they took a turn away from the ship and went to another shopping area!!!! Everyone was NOT happy. It started to get a little ugly. They finally reluctantly gave in and took us back to the ship. Again, this was NOT part of the excursion details. But that's Jamaica for you.

Provider: Carnival Cruise Lines

Loved the beach. We were given beach chairs to use. They also brought around Rum Punch, lemonade and water. I felt they were too slow in serving us. They also served us food, but the same thing-very slow in serving. I would rather they had a buffet and we could eat when we wanted to. Also the food portions were small. Loved the beach, not the food so much.

Provider: Carnival Cruise Lines

We decided that we didn't want to do much for our excursion in Ocho Rios so we chose the Paradise Beach Club excursion. Since the announcement was made that excursions would get off the ship first, we chose the early start time for our excursion. The website lists that the excursion lasts 3 hours, but it actually goes as long as you would like. There was some confusion at the meeting point on the pier, but once that was sorted our the excursion staff was very professional and we enjoyed our time with them. The shuttle ride over to the beach was very quick and we were escorted into a gated portion of the beach and then walked a little ways to an area where some beach chairs had been laid out and a couple of tents were setup to serve food and drinks. The food was just BBQ fare, but the jerk chicken was delicious. I attempted to get my $50 in just the chicken. The beach itself was nice and the water seemed clean. We were directly across from the ship which provided a nice photo op. If I find myself on Ocho Rios again, I would not object to repeating this excursion.

Provider: Carnival Cruise Lines

Excellent and safe transportation from the port to the resort. No hassles from the vendors. Friendly service at the resort. Quick check-in process. Would recommend this to anyone. Great job jamaicaforaday.com...

Provider: Independent Operator

We booked a day pass at an all inclusive resort, Jewell Dunns River Falls. It was amazing! The bus was right there to meet us and it only took about 5-10 minutes to reach the resort. it was adults only so that was nice for us. All drinks and food are included, the jerk chicken was delicious and the drinks were tasty. Service was great and the staff was so friendly! The beach is small but private and there are several pools with swim up bars. Really great day!

Provider: Independent Operator

The beach was a little rough walking on the sand.. They served you everything and gave drinks coming... It was nice to sit and relax, not bad for the price, $49.99

Provider: Norwegian Cruise Line

Beach was ok but the service stunk, rum punch was not great. Food was limited and not really good.

Provider: Norwegian Cruise Line

Don't know the name of the beach we visited. Did not stay as the beach smelled like exhaust and water felt greasy.

Provider: Independent Operator

We loved Jamaica and would like to go back sometime to explore that island more. The Jamaican people were extremely friendly. We enjoyed the Bamboo Beach Club very much. Our three year old went with us and while we were initially concerned about safety issues, we were quickly relieved to find that safety was not an issue at all. The beach at the Bamboo Beach Club was beautiful and our son had a blast playing in the waves. The drinks and food were included in the price, as well as entertainment. We thought it was a good value. We also visited Margaritaville which was a lot of fun. We had to walk a short distance back to the port and some locals did approach us about buying things. We simply said "no thanks" and it was not a problem.

Provider: Carnival Cruise Lines

We also stopped at Great Stir up Cay, no spot for that port so I will stick it here. It was a nice beach day, the kids did the hippo slide ($20 for the day). We also went snorkeling with our own equipment, you do need to rent life vests ($5 for the day), we saw lots of fish, some large ones came quite close, and we realized later why. As we swam out we saw people feeding them out of their hands, looked like a granola bar. I wished we had remembered the under water camera, could have got some great shots. Also ran into some small jelly fish that left their mark on us. We went to the medical centre, and got some vinegar, and cream, apparently they are irritating, but harmless. We had a great lunch including some delicious ribs and corn on the cob. Tendering was fast and easy.

Provider: Norwegian Cruise Line